The Sallins Train Robbery occurred on 31 March 1976 when the Cork to Dublin mail train was robbed near Sallins in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland. Approximately IR£ 200,000 was stolen. Four members of the IRSP (Irish Republican Socialist Party), Osgur Breatnach, Nicky Kelly, Brian McNally and John Fitzpatrick were arrested in connection with the robbery. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cork (Corcaigh in Irish) is the second city of the Republic of Ireland. ... Dublins Hapenny Bridge. ... Sallins (Na Solláin in Irish) is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3. ... County Kildare (Irish: Cill Dara) is an Irish county located to the southwest of County Dublin in the province of Leinster. ... The Irish pound (Irish: punt) was the currency unit of the Republic of Ireland until 1999. ... Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) describes itself as a republican socialist party and claims to be both Marxist and Republican. ...

After the failure of the authorities to produce a "book of evidence" against them, the four were released. However, Breatnach, Kelly and McNally were immediately rearrested. During interrogation in Garda Síochána custody, they all signed confessions. A member of the motorcycle unit of the Garda Síochána. ...

While awaiting trial Kelly jumped bail and left the country. He was tried (in absentia) along with Breatnach and McNally before the non-jury Special Criminal Court. Medical evidence of beatings was presented to the court. The court rejected this evidence, finding that the beatings had been self-inflicted. The three were found guilty, solely on the basis of their confessions, and sentenced to between nine and 12 years' prison. Traditionally, bail is some form of property which is deposited or pledged to a court in order to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (skipping bail is also illegal). ... This page includes English translations of several Latin phrases and abbreviations such as . ... The Special Criminal Court is a juryless criminal court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and organized crime cases. ...

In 1980 Breatnach and McNally were acquitted on appeal on the grounds that their statements had been taken under duress. Kelly returned to Ireland shortly afterwards expecting to be acquitted. However he was incarcerated in the maximum-security Portlaoise prison and spent the next four years proclaiming his innocence, including a period on hunger strike. Portlaoise (from Irish), or Maryborough, is a town in County Laois, Republic of Ireland, located near the midlands of Ireland. ... A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ...

After campaigns by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Amnesty International (and even a song Wicklow Boy by the popular folk singer Christy Moore) Kelly was eventually released on "humanitarian grounds" in 1984. He was given a presidential pardon in 1992 and received £750,000 in compensation. Amnesty International (or AI) is an international non-governmental organization, the stated purpose of which is to promote all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international standards. ... Christy Moore (b. ... The President of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ...